FCA Teases Hellcat Ram on High School Design Contest Poster

FCA recently announced that the details for the 2020 Drive for Design contest, including a promotional poster which features an illustration of a bright yellow Ram pickup. While the Drive for Design program is looking for high school students who are interested in vehicle design to create their image of the Ram pickup of the future, the image on the contest poster is an internal FCA drawing.

A drawing that seemingly showcases the 2020 Ram TRX Rebel, which is expected to be powered by the 6.2-liter Hellcat Hemi. The similarities are so significant that at first glance, you might think that the yellow truck in the drawing is the same as the red concept truck that has been displayed for the past few years, but upon closer inspection, this is definitely a Ram from the current generation with attributes of the TRX Rebel Concept from the previous generation.

In other words, the 2020 Drive for Design contest poster could be our first official look at the long-awaited Hellcat-powered Ram.

Unmistakable Front End Similarities
In the image atop this piece, we put the Drive for Design poster side by side with the Ram TRX Rebel Concept while on display at the 2017 New York International Auto Show. In the picture below, we have zoomed in on the significant portions of the two pictures, making it easier to highlight the features of the Hellcat Ram Concept as well as features that are specific to the modern generation.

When you first look at the drawing of the yellow Ram, two things likely jump out at you – the large vents in the hood and the bright silver center section of the front bumper with the tow hooks poking through with a splash of yellow. Those vents are remarkably similar to the vents on the 2016 TRX Rebel Concept and the front bumper appears to be nearly identical. Both trucks also have a bulging center section to the hood, possibly making room for the lid of the IHI supercharger, with a low-profile hood scoop at the front edge.

The key differences up front are the shape of the grille and the shape of the headlights. The grille on the yellow truck flares out at the bottom, stretching out below the headlights. The headlights are the slimmer design of the new generation Ram truck, and there is some slightly different sculpting through the visible portion of the front bumper. In other words, there are just enough differences to make it clear that this yellow truck is based on the current generation Ram 1500.

The Wide Ram
When you move to the sides of both trucks, there are more similarities between the Drive for Design poster truck and the TRX Rebel Concept. Both trucks have the black wheel flares on bulging fenders that are considerably wider than any current 1500 truck. Also, if you look closely, you can see that both trucks have side-exit exhaust tips in a silver housing. We have included pictures below showing the TRX Rebel Concept from the side, offering a better look at the features of the Hellcat-powered half-ton.

The yellow truck is missing the huge off-road tires, but if you look closely at the picture at the top of this piece, the Drive for Design poster truck appears to have a sport bar in the bed, just like the concept truck.

While this poster doesn’t guarantee anything, there is no question that this drawing shows a Ram 1500 from the current generation with styling cues of the Hellcat-powered Ram TRX Rebel Concept. We think that this is our first look at the supercharged pickup, which I believe is likely to make its grand debut at either the New York or Detroit auto shows this summer.

Drive for Design
The ultimate purpose of this poster showing the yellow Ram Hellcat is to promote the eighth year of FCA’s Drive for Design contest. This program invites high school students in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades who are interested in automotive design to create their vision of the next generation Ram truck. The idea is to showcase the work of young designers while providing those students with a rare chance to both meet and work with FCA designers.

Three winners will be selected and each student will get to experience an array of unique opportunities. First, the winners will get a behind-the-scenes tour and mentoring time with leading designers at the FCA Design studios. Next, each winning students receives a scholarship to attend College for Creative Studies Summer Experience Transportation Design program this summer and finally, the three winners will serve as junior judges at the prestigious EyesOn Design Car Show later this year.

High school students who are interested in the Drive for Design program should click here for more details. Don’t delay though, as the contest ends on May 1, 2020.

Patrick Rall is a professional writer and photographer with a passion for all things automotive. Patrick has been sharing his automotive expertise in automotive journalism from Detroit for more than a decade covering the Big Three. Having grown up in his father’s performance shop, he spent extensive time at the oval track and drag strip – both driving and wrenching on various types of vehicles. In addition to working as a writer, Patrick previously worked as an automotive technician before moving on to a business office position with a chain of dealerships, and this broad spectrum of experience in the industry allows him to offer a unique look on the automotive world. Follow Patrick on Youtube and Twitter.